Five genuine insider’s tips to the Oktoberfest

This won’t be the first article you’ve ever read with a title like that, but far the best yet! Follow these five simple insider’s tips to enjoy the final days of the Oktoberfest in one of the best tents – or, if you’ve already left and are dreaming about next year, remember where you read this next year!

1. Tuesday is the best day for getting into tents

A lot of people assume that Monday is the emptiest day. After all, that’s when all the Munich residents need to get to work, right? And when all the tourists leave, too!

Wrong: obviously, Monday is far more relaxed than, say, Friday or Saturday, but there are still plenty of long-weekenders around. And a lot of real Munich people will take a hard-earned Monday off work to enjoy their Wiesn without the crowds. Head a day later, though, and the Oktoberfest is your oyster until Wednesday, when the numbers start to climb again towards the weekend.

2. Look at the main entrance before you leave your tent

It can easily happen to visitors who don’t necessarily have great German skills: you pop out of the tent in the afternoon to enjoy the sun, ride a rollercoaster, or to pick up friends who can’t find you, leaving your group at the table and, when you come back half an hour later, the tent is closed. If you’re particularly unlucky, an ill-timed cigarette just outside can still cost you the chance to get back in.

The trick is to check the main entrance at the front of the tent before leaving. If that’s closed, that means that the tent is currently closed to everyone who is not inside it – i.e. everyone who leaves of their own free will – whether you’ve sat at a table and spent money there all afternoon or not. The others doors might be open, but that’s only for people to leave. The tents say they do this to stop overcrowding; a lot of customers think they’re probably doing it to keep table turnover up. Whatever the reason, don’t be fooled and keep an eye on the front entrance – and on the overall fullness of the tent – before popping out and stay put if you suspect they might be about to close the front entrance (Haupteingang).

3. Be nice to the security guards

Simple, effective, but easy to forget: and it can really help if you do, for whatever reason, find yourself outside of the tent. Despite the stress levels of their job, they’re only human, and will respond to a smile and an apology – especially if it comes from one of the friendly tourist wearing something other than a pair of cheap fabric imitation lederhosen. Also, do yourself the following favour: when dancing on the benches, keep one foot on the bench at all times, as being planted on a table is the most common grounds for being thrown out of a tent.

4. Keep the benches back to back

On that matter, dancing on the benches with a great view of the tent (and neighbouring tables) is one of the great pleasures of the Oktoberfest – and one of its greatest dangers. Classic Wiesn injuries are broken or sprained ankles or wrist fractures from the falls that occur when a bench goes over. However, you’ll see that the Germans take the simple precaution of pushing the bench up against the one behind them from the next table (Bänke zusammenschieben). This automatically makes both benches about half as stable again and, as long as everyone keeps a foot on the table and doesn’t go too wild, it’s all very enjoyable indeed.

5. Käfer is open late

Even the very best tent experience must come to an end at some point – generally between 10 and 11pm. But for anyone wanting to stay on the Wiesn and get another beer, there’s the Käfer beer garden. And if they’ve shut the entrance (which can happen if everyone wants to get in at exactly the same moment when the other tents chuck out), there’s even a secret entrance.

But that’s a real pro tip, so we’ll keep a hold of that one until next year…